Use of fiber optic cables for voice and data telecommunications has recently become quite prevalent. The low noise and greater bandwidth of fiber optics compared to metallic conductors has long been recognized as a major advantage; however, the labor required to fabricate an extensive fiber optic cable system for efficiently propagating voice and data modulated light signals is substantially greater than conventional conductors and has slowed the acceptance of the technology.
In constructing a fiber optic system, cables must be spliced together. Each splice in a fiber optic cable is accomplished by first gluing a ferrule assembly on the ends of two cables that are to be joined. Prior to adjoining the resulting optic fiber/ferrule assemblies in a butt connection, the cleaved rough end of each cable must be sanded with increasingly finer grit so that it is flat and transverse to the longitudinal axis of the cable. After final sanding, the ends of the fibers and ferrule assemblies are polished to remove any remaining minor irregularities and scratches. The ends of the two fiber/ferrule assemblies are then butt joined and secured in precise alignment by a sleeve that slides over a small diameter barrel portion of the ferrule and is glued in place. Failure to properly sand, polish and align the adjoined ends of the two fiber optic cables may result in light transmission losses in the connection sufficient to make the joint unacceptable.
Sanding and polishing the optical fiber/ferrule assemblies may be accomplished by individually lap sanding and polishing each assembly. In communication systems having thousands of fiber optic cable splices, sanding and polishing each assembly to the required precision would likely involve unacceptable labor costs and excessive time. Accordingly, machines have been developed to sand and polish forty or more optical fiber/ferrule assemblies at one time. In one such machine, the assemblies are each inserted into a holder, locked into place with a pneumatic clamp, and introduced against a rotating sanding or polishing surface at a controlled feed rate. The pneumatic clamping mechanism used in this machine requires a source of compressed air, is relatively complex in structure, and therefore, is comparatively expensive.
In consideration of the need for a relatively low cost machine to sand and/or polish a plurality of optical fiber/ferrule assemblies, it is an object of this invention to provide a fixture for holding such assemblies against an abrasive surface, which is simple in structure, relatively low in cost, and easy to use.
It is a further object of this invention to mount one or more optical fibers and attached ferrule assemblies in transverse alignment to an abrasive surface.
These and other objects and advantages of the subject invention will be apparent from the drawings and the disclosure of the preferred embodiment that follows hereinbelow.